The One About Baby Bear
by MrsBeilschmidt3
Summary: Carter and Newkirk find a baby outside the camp. What does she have to do with their mission? Who sent her? And how on earth do five POWs take care of an infant and keep her hidden from Col Klink?
1. A Cry in the Dark

"Shh!" Cpl. Peter Newkirk hissed to Sergeant Andrew Carter, who for some unfathomable reason was higher in rank.

"Sorry," Carter yelped as he stepped on about the thousandth dry twig. The American followed the Englishman to the location they had received from London. Apparently, a very important contact would be arriving there to meet them. "Baby Bear", London called him, since Col. Robert Hogan, the leader of the prisoners' underground operation, went by the radio call sign "Papa Bear".

Newkirk, Carter, Hogan, Sgt. James Kinchloe, and Cpl. Louis LeBeau were all prisoners of war in German Luft Stalag 13, run by the bumbling and gullable Col. Willhelm Klink. Supposedly, it was the "Iron Kommandant" who kept the escape-free record at the camp, but in reality the prisoners chose not to escape. They had tunnels everywhere, but those tunnels were for missions. The POW camp was the perfect place to run a secret military operation, right under Klink's nose.

Unless, of course, Carter ruined it with his indiscretion. "Would you keep quiet?" Newkirk snapped in a low voice. "Don't you remember how we taught you how to whisper?"

Carter scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry, Newkirk, sometimes I forget to whisper 'cause I'm practicing walking quietly." He lowered his voice. "But see, now I'm whispering, so I have a hard time being quiet while I'm- _oof!"_ Carter landed hard in the cold dirt after tripping over a root. "Walking," he groaned as Newkirk helped him back up.

"Carter, how did you ever get to be a Sergeant?" Newkirk sighed as he dusted off the lad's clothes.

"Well, I joined the military, and then I got promoted-"

"You weren't supposed to _answer_ that."

"Oh." Carter furrowed his brow. The others confused him sometimes.

They were quiet for a moment, and Newkirk was starting to wonder what was taking Baby Bear so long. He was snapped out of thoughts when he heard a cry.

"What is it _now,_ Carter?"

Carter frowned. "I didn't say anything."

The two stared at each other for a moment and then rushed to their feet when the cry filled the air again. _Whoever that is, they sound awful young,_ Newkirk thought as he pushed back some bushes. When he came face to face with the source of the noise, he gulped. Wrapped in blankets was a small, red-faced infant.

"It's… it's… it's a baby," Carter supplied helpfully.

Newkirk swallowed again. What did a bunch of POWs know about taking care of a baby? Why would somebody send their child to them? What did the child have to do with their mission? Was his family in danger? So many questions…

Newkirk sighed and turned to his American friend. "Carter, radio the Colonel. Tell him we found Baby Bear."


	2. Never Name a Baby

"Oh, boy." Hogan ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled heavily as he saw what Newkirk was carrying. Kinch and LeBeau rushed to the scene, their eyes widening in shock when they saw the bundle Newkirk handed to the colonel.

"It's a baby," Carter announced.

Hogan and the others turned to look at the sergeant, Newkirk giving his signature eye roll. "Thank you, Carter," Hogan said sarcastically. "Any other useful information?"

Carter started off enthusiastically, with his usual wide-eyed face, "Well, sir, I've always heard that… _oh."_ Hogan's sarcasm sunk in and Carter shut his mouth. After a moment he looked hopefully up at Newkirk, as if the Englishman might want to hear his "other useful information". Newkirk rolled his eyes again, like always.

The baby gave a little cry and, to the prisoners' dismay, began wailing.

"Great, it'll alert the guards." Hogan looked down at the baby in his arms and tried to console… _him? Her?_ He supposed that at the moment it didn't matter. "Hey, don't cry," he said softly, "you're safe. We're gonna find your family… or find you a good home."

The child would not cease.

"That's a good baby," LeBeau cooed, taking the baby from Hogan and rocking said child back and forth slowly. "Don't cry, _mon Cherie,_ we'll take care of you."

But the baby wouldn't stop crying. She- as LeBeau confirmed- kept looking in Newkirk's direction. "I think she wants you," LeBeau told his fellow corporal, laying her back in the Englishman's arms. He looked a little confused as to why _he_ wasn't the infant's automatic favorite.

Sure enough, the second the baby was back in Newkirk's embrace, her crying settled down and she began to calm, sucking on the heel of his hand and giving a tiny, squeaky yawn. She fell asleep, still sucking, and Newkirk smiled down at her sleeping face.

"Well, I'll be darned," Hogan whispered, trying not to wake the baby. "She really likes you, Newkirk." He sighed and stood up from where he sat at the rectangular table in the barracks, pacing back and forth in thought. "But why would London send us a _baby?_ Her family must work for the Underground, maybe they got caught and now they're in danger. Or maybe she's an orphan."

"Should I radio London, sir?" asked Kinchloe, who always operated the secret radio they had installed in the barracks. "Tell them 'Baby Bear' has been found?"

"Yes, Kinch, but…" Hogan paused for a moment before telling him, "I'm not so sure this is Baby Bear."

Carter's eyes widened. "What do you mean, Colonel?" he gasped, a little too loudly. The baby woke up and began crying all over again, only soothed when Newkirk rocked her back to sleep, whispering little endearments to her.

"Watch your mouth, Andrew," the English corporal hissed once the baby had gone back to sleep. "We don't want to wake up the whole ruddy camp."

Hogan nodded and explained, "What if Baby Bear never made it? And all this person had time to do was send their baby to us for care? The real 'Baby Bear' might be in serious trouble. I mean, it's only a theory, but it seems more likely to me then London just sending us a helpless baby as a contact."

"So her family might _really_ be in danger," Kinch agreed, looking down at the baby with concern. "But what do we know about taking care of a baby, in the meantime?"

Hogan sighed. "We'd better find out. LeBeau, prepare some milk for the kid, poor thing's probably starving.

"Oui, Colonel," the Frenchman responded. "What will we name her?" LeBeau was on his tiptoes, leaning over Newkirk's shoulder and fawning over the infant girl. Upon receiving an eyebrow raise from Hogan, he added, "I mean, what will we call her until we get her back home?"

"Let's not get too attached," Newkirk told him, climbing into his bunk and resting with the baby on his chest. She made a small noise of contentment and snuggled close to him in her sleep. There was a certain loving warmth the child gave him that already made him sad at the thought of having to give her up, and he realized that perhaps he should have heeded his own advice.


	3. Our Little Princesse

"Corporal Newkirk, why are you not standing attention for roll call?" Sergeant Schultz, the rotund prison guard who often turned a blind eye to the prisoners' antics, demanded.

"I'm _tryin',_ Schultzie," Newkirk insisted, yawning again. The baby had kept the prisoners up all night, especially Newkirk, seeing as he was the only one who could soothe her. Now she was sleeping soundly in the tunnel underneath the barracks… or so they thought.

She chose that moment, however, to wake up and begin crying. Her little wails were loud enough to reach Schultz' ears, and his eyes widened. He stepped closer to the barracks. "Colonel Hogan, _what_ is that sound?"

Hogan gave his most winning smile. "Oh, that's just Carter's new kitten, Schultz. He must be hungry."

Carter was about to ask since when did he have a kitten, but luckily caught on and went along with Hogan's story. "Yeah, it's hard to find a lot of food for kittens, poor little guy. I haven't been able to catch him any birds."

 _Birds?_ Thought Schultz, feeling a little sorry for the creatures. Something seemed fishy, though; that cry didn't sound quite like a kitten. "And what is _really_ going on, Colonel Hogan."

"Well, if you _really_ want to know-"

"Please, Colonel Hogan! I know _nothing,_ nothing!" Schultz quickly walked off to report to Col. Klink that all prisoners were present and accounted for; not everything had to be brought to the kommandant's attention.

The moment he left, the prisoners rushed back into the barracks, and Newkirk opened the tunnel entrance beneath one of the bunk beds. Kinch followed, since he would once again be operating the radio they held there. As quickly as he could, Newkirk scooped the infant girl up in his arms and began rocking her gently back and forth.

"It's all right, love, Uncle Kinch is at the radio now and he's gonna find your family, don't you worry. Can you smile for me, love? 'At's a good girl, don't cry…" He grinned as he sat down at the table, waiting for LeBeau to get down to the tunnel with milk for her.

" _Uncle Kinch?"_ Kinchloe turned to face his comrade, whose eyes were filled with one hundred percent love for the child in his embrace. Kinch remembered when Carter found a monkey and Newkirk got extremely attached to him, going so far as to dress him up and carry him around everywhere. Once again, Newkirk had someone to take care of, and it wouldn't be easy for him to let her go.

Newkirk had just opened his mouth to say something when Hogan, Carter, and LeBeau came down into the tunnel. "How's our little _princesse?"_ LeBeau approached her with a bottle of milk, touching her little button nose. She gave a small giggle and began sucking at the bottle until she'd had her fill.

"Awh, would you look at that, now she's…" Newkirk was cut off when the baby decided she'd had a little too much and proceeded to be sick all over his jacket. "…Happy," he muttered, wincing. He took off his jacket and laid it aside. "Well, I guess we oughtta give her a bath now."

LeBeau seriously doubted that any of the others had ever bathed a baby. "Why don't _I_ bathe her?"

"I am _perfectly_ capable of bathing a baby! Do you realize how many siblings I have?" Newkirk demanded.

"How many siblings you _claim_ to have!" LeBeau retorted, and Newkirk was about to snap back at him when the radio Kinch was sitting at started picking up a signal.

"Hello, Papa Bear, come in, Papa Bear," said an English accent.

Hogan stepped up to the radio. "We hear you, loud and clear."

"Jolly good! Have you found Baby Bear?"

"Um… yes and no."

Hogan and Kinch updated London on the discovery of the baby, and how they hadn't found her parents or heard anything from them.

The voice on the other end of the radio sighed. "Yes, that's what I was afraid of. Anna's parents- her name's Anna- were already suspected by the Gestapo of working for the Underground. They planned to flee to England with your help, but they've gone missing and we can't contact them. At least now we know their daughter is safe."

Newkirk swallowed as LeBeau helped him bathe little Anna. "They must be in a Gestapo cell, Louis. Blimey, who knows what's 'appened to them now?"

As if she could understand the conversation and what was going on, Anna began to cry again. Newkirk sang softly to her as he dried her gently and wrapped her in a blanket. Poor little thing, they didn't even have proper clothes for her. "Don't you worry, love, we're going to get your parents back to you, safe and sound. You'll like England, it's a really nice place. The weather's nice, the food's good-"

"Newkirk." The Englishman turned at the sound of LeBeau's voice. "'The weather's nice, the food's good'? Don't lie to a child, Pierre."

Newkirk suppressed a laugh and pretended to take offense. "Why, you…" He dipped a hand into the basin where they had bathed Anna and playfully splashed LeBeau with some water. "Hold on, love, I've gotta settle this," he told the child, handing her to Hogan. And thus commenced the splash war of the century until Hogan intervened to remind his men that they had a mission.


	4. Always Have a Harmonica-Playing Friend

Meanwhile, in a Gestapo cell…

"I hope Papa Bear's found Anna, someone needs to take care of her." Liesel Hammerstein let more tears flow as she sat beside her husband in the Gestapo prison. Just after she'd hidden her little Anna in a bush, feeling like she could relate to the mother of the baby Moses, she and Konrad had been found and captured. Miraculously, the baby never cried.

"We'll get back to her, _liebe,"_ Konrad said softly, sniffling as his own tears welled up and fell while he heled his wife to his chest. "Lord, wherever our little _liebling_ is, please let her be all right, and please let us all be reunited, safe and sound. In Christ's name, amen."

"Amen," Liesel echoed, her voice carrying to the walls of the lonely cell and rebounding back, and she hoped God was listening well.

Back to Stalag 13…

Newkirk had just had the "pleasant" experience of LeBeau teaching him how to change a diaper. Now Anna was in his lap just as Schultz entered the barracks. Quickly, Newkirk bent forward just enough to hide the baby, thankful that he was already sitting down at the table.

"Gin!" he called out triumphantly, and LeBeau caught on to his game.

"You always cheat, I am sure _I_ was the real winner this time!" the small Frenchman insisted.

Schultz cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow. _"Gambling_ in the barracks?" he demanded, fixing his gaze on Hogan. "Colonel Hogan, that is against regulations." His tone was slightly pleading, because sometimes he was a little overwhelmed by all the little antics he had to know "nothing" about.

"Look at the table, Schultz," Hogan told him. "What do you see?"

Schultz eyed the senior POW officer quizzically. "Cards… Colonel Hogan, was ist…"

"Exactly, Schultz, you see _cards,"_ Hogan interrupted. "Now, what _don't_ you see?"

"Let me guess… I see nothing?" Schultz asked miserably.

"What you _don't_ see," Hogan told him, standing up and gesturing to Newkirk and LeBeau's "innocent" game, "is _money._ Without money, how can it be gambling?"

"Well, I guess that is true…"

Everything was going to be fine until Anna decided that this would be an ideal moment to start crying. Schultz' eyes traveled to Newkirk's direction. "Corporal Newkirk, please tell me that I did not hear what I think I just heard."

"Oh, ah… that was just me stomach growlin', Schultz," Newkirk quickly piped up, hoping Anna was quiet down because he couldn't exactly sing to her with the sergeant around. "I suppose it's about time for lunch."

Sadly, Schultz was not fooled this time. "Uh- _huh…"_ he murmured, walking over to the English corporal and eyeing the baby in his lap. The German sergeant's eyes widened to about three times their normal size when he saw Anna.

"That is it!" he declared, eliciting winces and groans from the prisoners. "I can overlook a lot of things, but _this!_ This is going too far, Corporal Newkirk, simply too far! I'm sorry, but I must report this to the Kommandant!" Under his breath he muttered, "A baby in the barracks. Who knows what else those prisoners will smuggle in? I don't even want to know…"

Schultz was just about to head to Klink's office when Hogan tugged on his sleeve. "Please, Schultz, just hear us out for a minute, okay?" the American beseeched him. "We have a very good explanation for this,"

Schultz frowned, his jawline set hard. But Hogan knew that resilience wouldn't last long.

"You have kids, don'tchya, Schultz?" Hogan took the baby from Newkirk, causing her to whimper a little. "It's okay, baby, we're not gonna hurt you. This is Uncle Schultz, Anna."

"She has a name?"

Hogan looked at LeBeau, who rummaged through his belongings until he found a harmonica. He began to play a soft, dreary tune as the Colonel spoke. "Imagine that you're an American, but you're loyal to the German cause; you work as a spy for the Germans, but your wife has just had a baby. You can't let her stay with you, not with the Gestapo on your trail mistaking you for a traitor or an Allied soldier. So, with a heavy heart and tears in your eyes, you have to let your little princess stay with someone else until you can secure a safe lodging in Switzerland."

Schultz was beginning to sniffle, and Hogan looked at LeBeau, nodding for him to continue on with his little dirge as the tragic story went on: "The only safe place in Germany you can think of would be a POW camp; the Axis won't attack it because some of their soldiers are there. The Allies won't attack it because some of _their_ soldiers are there. And the most unlikely place for anybody to find your precious little angel? In the care of Allied prisoners of war. So until you can find a safe place to raise her at, you have to entrust your innocent child into the hands of the enemy." He placed dramatic emphasis on the last sentence and LeBeau finished his song with one long, doleful note.

Schultz was tearing up now. "Please, Colonel Hogan, that is enough! I will not report this little angel to Colonel Klink! My lips are sealed, I swear it! But… how did you learn all this?"

Hogan gave the German sergeant a mischievous smile. "Do you really wanna know, Schultz?"

Schultz drew in a sharp breath and headed for the door. "No, I want to know _nothing!_ I saw nothing, I heard nothing!" He left in a flurry and the prisoners laughed. Hogan handed Anna to Newkirk and immediately she was happy again.

"Well, we got Schultz off our case, all we've got to do is find Anna's parents." Hogan thought for a moment and snapped his fingers. "Of course! I know how we'll get her back! But we won't be the one to deliver her to her parents."

Newkirk's face fell. "Well, then, who _will?"_

"Why, Sergeant Schultz, of course."


	5. Always Count on Schultz

**A/N: Sorry for being so late on this chapter, I've been having to catch up on school plus practice for auditions for the play earlier this week, so I had to temporarily abandon writing until I got everything else under control. Anyway, I'm back now, with Hogan and Newkirk and cute little Anna! :3**

"I've got a message from London, Colonel." Kinch was sitting at the tunnel radio; he and the others had been waiting all day because Hogan couldn't carry out his plan until he knew where Anna's parents were.

Hogan was leaning with his back to the wall, his cap pulled slightly over his face, but now he stood straight, lifting his hat, which tousled his hair a little. "Great, what's the news?"

"They've located Anna's parents," Kinch responded, and a cheer rose up from the men.

"Did you hear that, love?" Newkirk bounced Anna softly in his lap, making her giggle and smile. "London's found your mum and dad!" He smiled but when the full truth of what he said resonated within him, he paused for a moment and swallowed. "Your mum and dad…" he repeated softly.

"They're in a Gestapo prison," Kinch elaborated.

"Oh, well that's bloody _perfect."_ Newkirk frowned as he rocked Anna softly. "How do we get 'em out?"

"I've got some explosives to blow down the cell door!" Carter automatically supplied.

"Thanks, Carter, but the idea is to _save_ Anna's parents, not kill them," Hogan told the young sergeant. "No, I've got a different plan entirely."

Kinch nodded. "And where does Sergeant Schultz fit in to this 'different plan'?" queried LeBeau.

"You'll see soon enough," Hogan replied, "first thing's first. Kinch, I need those names."

"On it, sir."

Kinch turned on the radio and tuned into London's wavelength. "Calling Mama Bear, this is Goldilocks. Do you read me, Mama Bear?"

"Loud and clear, Goldilocks." Few times before had the anonymous voice on the other end been so refreshing to hear.

Kinch smiled as he adjusted his headset over his ears and hat. "Do you know the names of Baby Bear's parents yet?"

The men fell silent and Newkirk looked down at Anna, who was now sleeping in his lap. Her little face was relaxed and peaceful, with a smile that indicated she was content to be in the Englishman's arms. Newkirk hated the thought of giving her up. He almost wished, selfishly, that he could keep her. But no, she had to have _parents._

"Getting attached, Newkirk?" Hogan asked with a little grin, looking over his friend's shoulder at the sleeping child.

"I can't help it, sir. Just look at that face." Hogan did, and didn't want to look away. She was so cute…

"This is going to be a hard mission," he sighed, tracing his finger along Anna's soft cheeks. "Because it's the first one I'd almost rather not accomplish."

Scene Change (duh lol I should probably think of something more creative)

"Sergeant Schultz, you're just the man I was looking for," Hogan declared, walking up behind the portly German and giving him a hearty pat on the back like he was "one of the guys". Schultz was making his usual rounds about the barracks while most of the men were outside playing volleyball (other than Newkirk, who was inside tending to Anna).

"I am?" Schultz asked nervously, wanting to know nothing of what was probably Hogan's latest scheme. He swallowed when Hogan beckoned for him to stand against the wall of the barracks and talk.

"It's about the baby," Hogan told him softly. "We just found out that her parents were captured by the Gestapo- wrongly suspected of disloyalty to the Third Reich, of course."

"Of course." Schultz figured Hogan didn't lie about _everything,_ but if he wasn't telling the whole truth in this case, he didn't want to know about it.

"Anyway, how can I get the poor kid's family back to her?" Hogan made his eyes large and sad. "I'm just a prisoner." He looked around as if he was making sure no one was listening and added, "I trust you, Schultz. Do it for Anna, if not for me."

"Do _what,_ Colonel Hogan, do _what?"_ Schultz' voice raised and Hogan motioned downward with his hand to denote a desire for a drop in the sergeant's volume.

"You don't wanna alert the whole camp, do you? Most of them probably think they're really enemies of the Third Reich!"

"Right!" Schultz stood a little straighter, saluting as if he was talking to Klink rather than Hogan. "I swear it, Colonel Hogan, my lips are sealed, I will say nothing, _no-thing!"_

Hogan grinned and patted Schultz on the back again. "Thanks, Schultz, you're really a pal. Now, here's what I need you to do. I need you to go to the prison where Anna's parents are. Tell the Gestapo you've been ordered to take them to Stalag 13. Can you do that for me?"

Schultz' eyes widened and he gripped his rifle nervously like a child holding onto a stuffed animal. "But Colonel Hogan, I _don't_ have orders and you know it! How can I go behind Colonel Klink's back like that?"

"You won't, because I'll talk to him."

If this was Hogan's attempt at being reassuring, it failed. "Oh, you'll talk to him! Colonel Hogan, sometimes you go too far!"

"Let me show you something, Schultz." Hogan beckoned for the sergeant to follow him into the barracks, where Newkirk laid back on his bunk feeding Anna from a bottle.

Schultz couldn't help but smile at the heartwarming sight. Little Anna looked so peaceful and happy in the Englishman's arms…

"This is a sad sight, Schultz," Hogan commented.

Newkirk and Schultz raised eyebrows simultaneously. "A sad sight, Colonel Hogan? How is this precious scene _sad?"_

"Yeah, 'at's what I'd like to know!" Newkirk agreed, but then fell silent when he saw the "I'm-planning-something" look in Hogan's eyes.

"Here this precious, innocent child is learning to view Newkirk as her father," Hogan explained, gesturing to Anna, who was now asleep on Newkirk's chest. "But what if she grows too attached? Do you want to cause her all that pain of leaving Newkirk, Schultz, by getting her parents out too late?"

Schultz shook his head vigorously, the corners of his eyes misting as they beheld baby Anna. "No, Colonel Hogan, you are right! I will go get her parents, don't you worry!"

"Thanks, Schultz, I can always count on you," Hogan told him as he left the barracks. Once Schultz was gone Hogan walked over to Newkirk's bunk to look at Anna.

"I'm gonna hate to leave her," he admitted, stroking the soft peach fuzz at the top of the baby's head. "Well, I better go talk to the Kommandant." Newkirk didn't answer. He had fallen asleep holding Anna.


	6. Another Time, Carter

"What is it, Colonel Hogan, I am _very busy,"_ Klink sighed in response to Hilda announcing the American colonel's presence.

Hogan took note of the _schnapps_ on the kommandant's desk. "Sorry, sir, I couldn't tell."

Klink looked up from his paperwork and glared at Hogan. "If you have come to complain about the food-"

"No, I'm saving that for another time." Hogan made himself at home in Klink's office, sitting across from the German colonel and reaching for his box of cigars. "Today I was just hoping you'd sign something," he added, his tone casual.

Klink raised the brow above his eye that did not have a monocle, taking the box away from Hogan. "Oh, you were 'just hoping' I'd sign something, were you? How innocent. What kind of trap is this, Hogan?"

Hogan widened his eyes, feigning hurt. "You think I'd set a trap for you, sir?" He placed a hand on his chest at his heart. "My beloved Colonel Klink? I can't believe you!" He sniffled once for added effect. "I simply wanted an autograph, and-"

Klink cut him off, as Hogan knew he would. "An autograph?" Already Hogan could hear Klink's ego inflating like a basketball being pumped. "Why didn't you say so? What did you want me to autograph?"

Hogan handed him a folded-up piece of paper. "I've been collecting inspirational figures' autographs as a souvenir from Germany when I get back home from the war. Could you sign here?" He indicated a line at the bottom of the page.

Klink smiled his "I'm-admired-for-my-greatness" smile and grabbed his pen, signing on the line. "Of course, of course, Hogan. You know, I never realized that you considered me to be an inspirational figure of Germany."

Hogan wove as much sentiment as he could into his words. "You're the person I'll remember most when I get back to the States, sir." _Now just hand over the damn thing without reading it!_

Klink finished signing and, thankfully, was taken by Hogan's ego-boosting talk enough that he didn't inspect the rest of the paper. "Here you go, Hogan," he said, smiling with self-satisfaction like he'd just given the American a wonderful gift.

Hogan feigned excitement, though it wasn't hard for him to genuinely smile because now he had the signature as the proof Schultz needed to get Anna's parents out of prison. "Thanks, sir! I'm going to show this to my family. I'll tell them, 'This is the signature of Old Blood and Guts, the Iron Kommandant. If only there were more men like him, Germany might not have lost the war!'"

Klink smiled until he heard the last part. "Hogan…"

"Yes, sir?" Hogan asked cheerfully.

" _Diiis-_ missed!"

҉҉҉

(^^So I found a new scene-spacer thingy lol)

"I guess I'm going to have to say goodbye soon," Newkirk sighed to baby Anna. She looked up at him with wide eyes as if she knew what he was saying, and gave a little whimper. "I know, love. I don't want you to go, either."

Hogan entered the barracks as Newkirk was giving Anna her bottle. The baby was so happy in his arms…

"Newkirk," he said softly, tapping on his friend's shoulder. "It's time to go."

Naturally, Hogan wasn't planning on sending Schultz to the Gestapo prison _alone._ He, Newkirk, and LeBeau would trail Schultz in Gestapo uniforms in case something went wrong. Not only did they have Konrad's and Liesel's safety to think of, they had Anna's as well. "You ready?" he asked after a moment's silence.

Newkirk shrugged sadly. "Ready as I'll ever be." He stood up slowly from his bunk and handed the child to Kinch while he went to change into his disguise. Automatically, she began crying.

"Don't cry, sweetheart," Kinch told her, trying to soothe her like Newkirk did. But only the Englishman seemed to be able to get her to calm down and be happy. "You're going to get to see your family soon."

Newkirk came out from Hogan's separate room, where he has changed into his Gestapo outfit. Disguising was frequent amongst the prisoners; sometimes Newkirk even had to dress up as an old lady. There was one occasion when he, Hogan, and LeBeau all dressed up as women, but fortunately that was only required once.

"Here she is," Kinch told him, smiling sadly at Anna as he handed her back to Newkirk. "Boy, I'm going to miss her. Having a baby around almost makes the place feel homey."

Newkirk took the bundle and nodded, swallowing down the saltwater burning behind his eyes. "Let's go to your family, love. Say goodbye to Uncle Kinch and Uncle Carter." His voice was oddly thick as he let the other men crowd around him to say goodbye to Anna. Carter looked up at him sympathetically.

"It's going to be hard, isn't it? I know the feeling. Once when I was little, I found a turtle in my backyard and I wanted _sooo_ bad to keep it, but my mother said it had to go back to the pond, and-"

"Carter."

The young sergeant blinked. "Yes, Newkirk?"

"Another time."


	7. The Strudel Connection

" _Schultzie…"_ LeBeau sang to the tubby German sergeant from behind. Schultz turned around, knowing that the French corporal wanted him to do something for him before he ever heard him coming, because he could smell that heavenly strudel from a mile away.

"Is that… apple?" Schultz peered over LeBeau's shoulder at the dessert, his stomach growling loudly. No one made strudel like LeBeau.

"The finest apples you could ever hope to taste." LeBeau fawned over his creation like it was his own child. Made with a light cinnamon sauce, which I-"

"Cockroach, _please!_ Tell me what you want, I'll do anything- _a-ny-_ _thing_ _!"_ Schultz's eyes were fixed on the dessert and seemed to be incapable of looking away.

"It's time to reunite baby Anna with her parents," LeBeau explained, handing Schultz just a bite of the strudel.

The sergeant gulped the bit of strudel down greedily, his eyes rolling in sheer delight as he savored the dessert. "Of course, baby Anna!" he agreed, his voice slightly muffled. He swallowed and nodded. "I will go. But, LeBeau…"

LeBeau chuckled a little and handed him the plate that the strudel was in. "Yes, you can have the rest before you go. But hurry!"

 _It'll buy Newkirk a few extra minutes with his little_ princesse, he thought, smiling. He'd miss her, too- the men could get homesick sometimes in the camp and the infant girl had certainly brightened their days of late. He was glad she could go back to her family, but at the same time, he really hated to see her go.

҉҉҉

Newkirk was sitting on his bunk, holding Anna for the last time. She liked it when he tapped her on the nose or the stomach, and she would giggle and smile and move about. When he rocked her, she liked to nestle her downy little head in the crook of his arm and fall asleep. "I'm going to miss you so much," he sighed, letting her suck happily on his finger. "I wish you were mine, love, I'd take you home to England after the war and show you all the castles and take you to Brighton in the summer, and teach you how to pick locks…"

"Pick locks?" repeated a somewhat amused French accent.

"Hey, LeBeau," Newkirk said without enthusiasm, never looking up from his little darling.

LeBeau stood on his tiptoes to look over Newkirk's shoulder and smiled sadly. "I wish you were staying, _mon Cherie,"_ he told her, watching her little cheeks puff out and suck in as she continued sucking on Newkirk's finger instinctively in her sleep.

"That's right, sleep," he whispered gently to her, stroking her small head. He sang softly to her in French, using a song he remembered his parents singing to him. _"Fais do-do, chér bebe, fais do-do… fais do-do, jolie bebe, fais do-do…"*_

She wriggled in contentment at Newkirk's rocking and the sound of LeBeau's singing, and LeBeau thought he heard Newkirk sniffle but decided not to say anything. "Time to go?" he asked quietly after finishing his lullaby, and Newkirk nodded sadly. "I guess so. Blimey, I'm going to miss her."

Schultz came in just then and noted Newkirk's Gestapo uniform. His eyes went wide. "Corporal Newkirk, _where_ did you get that?"

"I thought you saw nothing," the Englishman responded.

Sometimes Schultz' life was truly a torturous one. "Yes… nothing," he moaned, taking Anna into his arms. "I see nothing."

҉҉҉

It was a good thing Carter was in the barracks for this mission, because there were still plenty of sticks and dry leaves for the young sergeant to step on. Luckily, Newkirk was quick and light on his feet, and they had successfully followed Schultz unnoticed so far.

Hogan stood behind a tree at the edge of the woods and motioned for Newkirk to follow him. LeBeau was close behind, and hard to spot with his small frame. The three men watched as Schultz walked with Anna to the Gestapo prison, Klink's signature in his pocket. Anna was wrapped in blankets to keep her warm, but had started crying when she realized she was no longer with Newkirk.

"I'm right behind ya, love," he wanted to say, but of course, he couldn't. So instead, he silently followed his commander, looking behind him to watch out for LeBeau as well.

When Schultz reached the prison Hogan hid behind a fence and ducked, waving Newkirk and LeBeau over. They crouched in the dark and watched around the corner as Schultz walked in. Hogan swallowed. Schultz was _not_ a commanding or intimidating man, hopefully he'd remember to state that he had orders from Colonel Klink and simply get Konrad and Liesel the hell out of prison.

The men all felt sick with apprehension after waiting for minutes on end, but at last, Schultz arrived with a disheveled-looking young couple and Anna.

"Now," Hogan whispered to Newkirk, who walked onto the scene with the serious air of a Gestapo major.

"Sergeant Schultz, I presume?" he asked coldly in a German accent. The young woman, who must have been Liesel, gasped as Schultz nodded. "I'm ordered to escort you outside of the property."

Schultz saw Newkirk's face and his eyes widened again. "I know nothing," he mouthed, letting out a small whine. Newkirk nodded and walked with Schultz and the couple behind the fence, Anna's crying having ceased now that she was back with her parents.

When Schultz saw Hogan and LeBeau, he waited until they were all out of earshot of the real Gestapo and then blurted out, "That is it! You know there are some things I have to report!"

LeBeau gave Schultz a pleading lip, his lower lip stuck out in a pout. "Come on, Schultzie, you wouldn't report your strudel connection, would you?"

"What is going on?" demanded Konrad.

"Colonel Robert E. Hogan," Hogan introduced himself, reaching out to shake Konrad's hand. "'Papa Bear'."

Newkirk and LeBeau introduced themselves as well, and Liesel sighed in relief as she held Anna close to her breast. "I cannot thank you all enough," she expressed, smiling down at her child. "Konrad and I were so worried about our little sweetheart."

"Well, you won't have to worry anymore," Hogan assured her. "We'll get you all safely on your way to Switzerland and nothing will separate you from Anna again."

Anna yawned softly and looked at Newkirk. Suddenly her little lip trembled and she began crying all over again, reaching out her tiny arms to the Englishman. Liesel chuckled softly. "Well, sir, it seems she wants to say goodbye."

She let Newkirk rock her one last time, and he enjoyed every second of it, wishing he never had to give her up. He kissed her head and at last handed her back to her mother. "Be good, love," he whispered, "be good for Uncle Peter."

He swallowed and wiped his watery eyes with his sleeve as they took Liesel and Konrad to the rendezvous point where another underground agent would pick the couple up. They all waited until they were sure Anna and her family had safely gotten on their ride before heading back to camp.

"And what am I supposed to say when we get back to camp?" Schultz demanded as he walked the prisoners back. "You will be in Gestapo uniforms, and how do I explain _that_ to the commandant?"

"Tell him we tried to escape," Hogan replied simply. "You'll get the credit."

Schultz nodded, murmuring something under his breath about forgetting the prisoners, _he_ was the one who wanted to escape sometimes. "Now tell me, Colonel Hogan, what is really the whole story behind baby Anna?"

Hogan flashed his most amiable grin. "Well, if you want the whole truth we run this underground operation where we gather information and send it to London with this handy little radio beneath the barracks, and Anna's parents were part of it all!"

Schultz scoffed. "Jolly joker," he muttered, though he asked no further question. Surely, Hogan was kidding.

҉҉҉

"Message from London, Colonel," Kinch announced, putting down his radio headset. "Anna and her parents made it safely to Switzerland."

Hogan smiled. "That's great, Kinch. Hey, where's Newkirk? I know he'll be glad to hear his Anna's safe."

"Did someone say my name?" Newkirk descended the ladder into the tunnel. "Sorry, Colonel, I was… occupied."

"That's all right, just wanted to tell you that Anna and her family are all safe and sound in Switzerland." Hogan's eyes traveled down to Newkirk's coat pocket when he heard a small squeak. A kitten poked its soft, orange head up and looked at him curiously.

Hogan rubbed his temples. "Newkirk… don't tell me you've already found someone else to get attached to."

Newkirk picked up the kitten and looked at Hogan pleadingly. "Come on, Colonel, 'e won't cause us no harm, 'e wont. 'E can be our little mascot! Surely a kitten's easier to take care of than a baby!"

Hogan sighed. Usually, when a task would "surely" be easy, it wasn't. But maybe Newkirk was lonely, and the kitten _was_ cute…

"Oh, all right," he caved. "We can keep him."

Newkirk smiled down at the tiny cat. "Did you hear that?" he asked. "You're our mascot!"

Hogan studied the kitten closely. He was very young. Great, he would be crying or hungry or wanting to play during all hours of the night. But there was no way he could say no to a kitten. "Newkirk, next time you find another potential mascot, try not to find a cute one, okay?"

Newkirk grinned mischievously. "No promises, sir."

FINIS

*That was an old lullaby my dad used to sing to me. It meant something like "go to sleep, dear pretty baby", so I thought it would be a sweet song for LeBeau to sing to Anna. :3


End file.
